Some Manchester United players are alarmed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's extraordinary rant on immigration in which he claimed the UK was being 'colonised'. United co-owner Ratcliffe made headlines on Wednesday when he took aim at the level of migration in Britain and made false claims about the population.

Ratcliffe, 73, is still suffering backlash, despite a mealy-mouthed apology which was demanded of him by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Also among those to criticise the billionaire were the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, various United supporters' groups and anti-racism charities.

United took the unusual step of releasing a statement on Thursday. The club spoke of their pride at being an inclusive club with a 'diverse group of players' - but didn't mention Ratcliffe.

According to the Mail, a portion of United's squad - which contains no fewer than 17 overseas players - have been left 'alarmed' by his comments. One insider warned that Ratcliffe's rant wouldn't go down well with the players while another source close to the dressing room accused him of being 'out of touch'.

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Ratcliffe's comments came during a Sky News interview at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp. "You can't have an economy with nine million people on benefits and huge levels of immigrants coming in," the INEOS chief executive said.

"I mean, the UK has been colonised. It's costing too much money. The UK has been colonised by immigrants, really, hasn't it?"

Inaccurately, Ratcliffe went on to say: "I mean, the population of the UK was 58 million in 2020, now it's 70 million. That's 12 million people."

The Office for National Statistics estimate that the population of the UK was 67 million in mid-2020 and 70 million in mid-2024. It was estimated to be 58.9 million in 2000.

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Ratcliffe, a resident of tax haven Monaco, apologised with a statement which read: "I am sorry that my choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe and caused concern, but it is important to raise the issue of controlled and well-managed immigration that supports economic growth.

"My comments were made while answering questions about UK policy at the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, where I was discussing the importance of economic growth, jobs, skills and manufacturing in the UK.

"My intention was to stress that governments must manage migration alongside investment in skills, industry and jobs so that long-term prosperity is shared by everyone. It is critical that we maintain an open debate on the challenges facing the UK."

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